No. 20 Men’s Water Polo Bests No. 16 CBU, 16-14, Falls to No. 16 Bucknell, 17-9

Sunday, September 8

Providence, RI

9:45 AM

Brown University

Bucknell University

No. 20 Men’s Water Polo Bests No. 16 CBU, 16-14, Falls to No. 16 Bucknell, 17-9

9/8/2019 5:49:00 PM | Men's Water Polo

Tournament Central

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 20 Brown University men's water polo defeated No. 16 California Baptist University, 16-14, after falling to No. 16 Bucknell University, 17-9, on the second and final day of the eighth annual Bruno Classic on Sunday at the Katherine Moran Coleman Aquatics Center.

The Bears (5-1) capped a 5-1 opening weekend with their victory over the Lancers (1-3) in the afternoon following their first setback of the season at the hands of the Bison (3-0) in the morning as the hosts faced off against a pair of teams tied at the No. 16 spot in the national rankings.

"It's nice to end the weekend with a win," Brown head coach Felix Mercado said. "This morning's game was hard to take. It's not all about results at this time of year, but no one likes to lose like that. Bucknell and California Baptist are very good teams. I liked the fact that our guys rebounded and stayed focused to beat CBU in the afternoon. We have a lot of work to do, but it was nice to put together a 5-1 weekend at home."

Between Sunday's two games, senior James Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) led the Bears with six goals while senior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.), sophomore Niko Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.), and freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) each scored three goals.

For the weekend, Thygesen paced Brown with 16 goals with sophomore Matt Simko (Coral Gables, Fla.) and freshman Leo Berkman (Orinda, Calif.) supplying 10 and eight goals respectively.

Next, Brown competes at the Princeton Invitational, facing Wagner (Sept 14, 9:15 a.m.), Navy (Sept. 14, 2:15 p.m.), No. 15 George Washington (Sept. 15, 10:30 a.m.), and No. 16 Bucknell (Sept. 15, 2:15 p.m.).

Game 1 – No. 16 Bucknell 17, No. 20 Brown 9

Senior James Thygesen netted three goals, but No. 20 Brown fell to No. 16 Bucknell, 17-9, in its first game of the day and fifth game of the weekend on Saturday morning.

Beginning their time at day two of the Bruno Classic, the Bears remained within 9-8 with 3:27 to play in the third quarter before the visiting Bison scored six straight goals as part of an 8-1 run to close the contest.

Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) added two assists to his hat trick while senior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) totaled two goals, three assists, two steals, and two field blocks.

Sophomore Matt Simko (Coral Gables, Fla.) notched a goal and two steals, and senior Hudson Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.) passed out two assists. Sophomore Niko Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.) and freshmen Nick Berry (San Anselmo, Calif.) and Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) each scored one goal.

In the cage, sophomore goalkeeper Ugo Piovan (Vouliagmeni, Greece) made seven saves.

Deirmenjian and Simko staked Brown to a 2-1 edge early in the first quarter before a pair of Bison markers gave Bucknell a 3-2 lead at the end of one.

Following a Thygesen goal in the second quarter that tied the score at 3-3, Bucknell used a 3-0 spurt to pull ahead 6-3. Goals from Bhatia and Thygesen helped cut the margin to 7-5 before the visitors brought an 8-5 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, Deirmenjian, Thygesen, and Berry fueled a 3-1 run that brought Brown within 9-8 with 3:27 to go in the frame. Bucknell responded with the final three goals of the third quarter and notched the first three goals of the fourth quarter to pull ahead 15-8. A goal from Atwell stopped the run before the Bison scored the contest's final two goals.

Bucknell 17, Brown 9
Brown....................... 2…3…3…1…9
Bucknell................... 3…5…4…5…17
Brown Goals: Thygesen 3, Deirmenjian 2, Atwell, Berry, Bhatia, Simko.
Brown Saves: Piovan 7.

Game 2 – No. 20 Brown 16, No. 16 California Baptist 14

Seniors James Thygesen and Hudson Rawlings each scored hat tricks to propel No. 20 Brown to a 16-14 win over No. 16 California Baptist on Saturday afternoon in the team's second game of the day and sixth and final contest of the weekend.

Trailing the Lancers 11-8 in the third quarter, the Bears used a 6-0 run between the third and fourth quarters to turn that three-goal deficit into a three-goal advantage at 14-11.

In the final game of the Bruno Classic taking place at Brown, Thygesen (Menlo Park, Calif.) finished with three goals, four assists, and three steals alongside three goals from Rawlings (Murrieta, Calif.).

Sophomore Niko Bhatia (Los Altos, Calif.) tallied two goals, four assists, two steals, and two ejections drawn, and freshman Cole Atwell (San Diego, Calif.) contributed two goals and two assists.

Freshman Andrew Penner (Atherton, Calif.) scored two goals, senior Armen Deirmenjian (Beverly Hills, Calif.) tallied a goal, two assists, and three ejections drawn, and junior Adam Fuller (Santa Barbara, Calif.), sophomore Matt Simko (Coral Gables, Fla.), and freshman Leo Berkman (Orinda, Calif.) each scored one goal.

In the cage, junior goalie Riad Hallal (Coronado, Calif.) turned aside six shots.

After CBU opened the game's scoring, Thygesen and Rawlings netted back-to-back goals to put Brown up 2-1. Following a pair of Lancer markers, Penner and Rawlings each scored later in the frame to help send the game to the second quarter tied at 4-4.

Thygesen and Berkman goals allowed Brown to stay level with CBU at 6-6 prior to consecutive goals from Bhatia that pushed the Bears ahead 8-7 late in the second quarter. A late marker from CBU knotted the score at 8-8 at the half.

The Lancers used a 3-0 streak to move ahead 11-8 midway through the third quarter before Brown scored the contest's next six goals to gain a 14-11 edge with 6:24 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Rawlings started the run prior to goals from Atwell, Penner, and Deirmenjian that pushed Brown ahead 12-11 at the end of the third. Goals from Simko and Fuller proceeded to push Brown's margin to 14-11 early in the fourth frame. Thygesen and Atwell tallies capped an 8-1 run for the hosts that saw them take a 16-12 advantage with 4:04 to play. CBU netted the game's last two goals in the final 3:10.

Brown 16, CBU 14
Brown....................... 4…4…4…4…16
CBU.......................... 4…4…3…3…14
Brown Goals: Rawlings 3, Thygesen 3, Atwell 2, Bhatia 2, Penner 2, Berkman, Deirmenjian, Fuller, Simko.
Brown Saves: Hallal 6.